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Cyborgs and gender
Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was born a twin to Dorothy Kindred Dick on December 16, 1928. His twin sister, Jane Dick, died shortly after birth due to malnutrition. It was later revealed his mother did not have enough breast milk to feed both her children - that only Dick only ever received enough milk. This greatly affected Dick as he took blame for his sister's death, believing that he had drank both his and his sister's share of milk. As a result, during his early life "Dick developed a phobia about eating and could not consume food in public, as if eating was a shameful act,"Turning Reality Inside out and Right Side Out: Boundary Work in the Mid-Sixties Novels of Philip K. Dick, Katherine Hayles, page 166. The women in Dick's life, including his mother and sister, eventually became a large influence in his written work, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Dick's mother was described as an intelligent individual who was both cold and distant. She had little, if any, capacity for empathy and this characterization would later be used in Dick's novel to describe androids. He would also use his mother's inability to care for his twin sister as another basis to describe androids who, in his novel, are incapable of caring for and keeping alive a living animal. Throughout his life, Dick had several sexual encounters with females, all of whom shared a few similar characteristics: they all had dark brown hair. Dick began to refers to these females, collectively, as the dark, brown haired girl. Aside from physical appearance the dark, brown haired girl was similar to his mother in that she was "intellectually brilliant, but emotionally cold," Turning Reality Inside out and Right Side Out: Boundary Work in the Mid-Sixties Novels of Philip K. Dick, Katherine Hayles, page 167. The dark, brown haired girl would eventually reflect andriod characters such as Pris Stratton and Rachel Rosen in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. ''Cyborgs'' According to the Oxford English Dictionary a cyborg is "a person whose physicial tolerances or capabilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by a machine or other external agency that modifies the body's function;an intergrated man-machine system." Philip K Dick, intrigued by the realm of science fiction, incoorportated it into his various works such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In doing so, it becomes evident that many of his characters exhibit cyborg/ andriod like qualities. Unlike a cyborg, an android is typically viewed as an artifical form of intelligence. Dick challanges this perception and often blurrss the distinction between andriods and cyborgic humans. Critic Katherine Hayles claims "the androids and simulacra of Dick's fiction include characters who are empatic, rebellious, determined to define their own goals and as strong individuated as the humans whose world they share". Although the idea of an andriod has not fully developed in our society yet, its precursor- the concept of cyborgs is certianly forming it's place. Our perceptions of cyborgs continue to evolve as society changes. Cells phone, contact lenses, camera eyes, and prosthetics are just some examples of how society has transformed to accomate synthetic methods of aid, unlimated creating the modern cyborg. Below is a video that directly shows how technology has aided in the creation of a real life Man-Machine thumb|| Although it is hard to think of a society where individuals willingly sacrifice competant REAL body parts in exchange for an enhanced synthetic version, the idea is not the far fetched. As our society evoloves so does our beliefs and way of thinking. The speaker could very well be the first to spark a trend of future camera eyes and prosthetic replacements. Only time can tell. ''thumb|right|500px Although it is hard to think of a society where individuals willingly sacrifice competant '''REAL' body parts in exchange for an enhanced synthetic version, the idea is not the far fetched. As our society evoloves so does our beliefs and way of thinking. The speaker could very well be the first to spark a trend of future camera eyes and prosthetic replacements. Only time can tell. Rachael Rosen & Other Female Characters Rachael Rosen Rachael Rosen is an interesting character in the novel. She makes the readers question whether or not androids can actually feel empathy. In one quote, Rachael says, "'I love you.' Rachael said. 'If I entered a room and found a sofa covered with your hide, I'd score very high on the Voigt-Kampff test.'""Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick. Page 194. This moment in the novel is a turning point for Rick Deckard because he feels as if she has feelings for him which he thought androids did not. Later on we find out that Rachael had alternative motives for sleeping with Rick. After the incident, Rachael reveals that she only slept with Rick because she had to "retire" Rick so that he wouldn't kill her fellow androids. All along we believed that androids could not feel empathy towards humans as well as other androids but we see here that that is not true at all. Maybe androids do not feel empathy towards humans but they definitely are empathic towards other androids. Pris Stratton While Rachael seemed like a human to begin with, Pris was cold to begin with so we knew right away that she was an android. As J.R. Isidore described, she acted in a very strange way. later References Category:Philip K. Dick Category:Cyborgs Category:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Category:Gender Category:Android